There’s no question that the internet is a powerful tool, allowing marketers to connect with consumers and grow businesses globally. And with the right approach, tools, and some old-fashion elbow grease, you can create a marketing campaign that will propel your business forward.
If you’re looking to take your marketing efforts online, you’ll want to consider the various platforms and methods available to you. While every platform and strategy is unique, it’s essential to develop an overarching digital marketing strategy that will bring success to your campaigns.
Let’s examine the various platforms and tactics available to marketers, beginning with the most basic: SEO.
Search Engine Optimization
SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of affecting the appearance of a website in search results. In order to do this, you will want to develop a strategy that incorporates both on-site and off-site tactics.
On-site optimization includes everything from creating content that is both informative and interesting to the user to ensuring that your Website is designed in a way that enhances user experience. Off-site optimization includes increasing your website’s visibility on search engines through paid search and brand building (building a brand for yourself in the digital space).
For a long time, SEO was limited to ensuring that your site contained the right keywords in the right placement. However, in recent years, Google has begun penalizing sites that seek to manipulate their search results through SEO. As a result, developing a sound digital marketing strategy that incorporates both on-site and off-site optimization is more important than ever before.
Website Traffic
Generating traffic to your site is the first step in building a brand in the digital space. Once you have established a solid base of traffic, you can begin to grow your revenue through pay-per-click advertising and sponsored posts on social media platforms. The more traffic you have, the more you can afford to spend on paid search and social media marketing.
Traffic from organic search results is considered free search traffic, and comes from people who found your site through a search engine like Google. However, social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram offer paid advertising options that can be monetized. This form of digital marketing is known as sponsored content and can dramatically increase your site’s traffic. For instance, if you have a fashion blog, you could monetize the content on your blog by becoming a style affiliate for brands that you highlight on your site. Doing this can drive revenue and increase traffic to your site.
Social Media
Social media websites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram afford marketers the ability to connect with consumers and grow their audiences. These platforms are where people share, comment on, and share again content that is both informative and interesting. For this reason, creating content that engages users on social media is a crucial component to building a brand in the digital space.
The ability to target consumers based on their interests and demographics is one of the major advantages of social media marketing. By creating content that relates to your target audience, you can drive more traffic to your site and increase your revenue.
On social media, your brand will be represented by an avatar or a user profile icon. This is the digital face of your brand, and as a result, it is essential that your chosen avatar represents you well and is in line with your brand’s branding guidelines.
For example, if you are a luxury brand, you may want to consider selecting an avatar that represents your brand’s aesthetic and has a classy vibe. If you are an e-commerce brand, a shopping avatar may be a better choice, as people will most likely be interacting with your brand through social media while shopping.
Paid Search
Paid search allows you to target consumers who are actively searching for your product or service within the internet. This is one of the most effective forms of online marketing, as people are more likely to click on paid search results when they are searching for a topic that is relevant to your product or service. In order to set up a paid search account with Google, you will need to apply for a Google Ads account and then link your Google and Ads accounts.
When creating your paid search strategy, consider the various terms consumers may use to search for your product or service. For example, if you sell shoes, you may want to create a paid search campaign targeting the keyword ‘shoes’. Additionally, you may want to perform a paid search for ‘mens shoes’ or ‘womens shoes’, as these are the most popular search queries when people are looking for shoes.
Once you have setup a paid search account with Google, you can begin to run ad campaigns that will target specific groups of people who have a common interest in your product or service. For example, if you sell shoes and you notice that a large number of people are using the keyword ‘shoes’ to search for information about shoes, you may want to create an ad campaign that specifically targets consumers who are interested in buying shoes. Doing this will increase your odds of converting leads into paying customers.
Email Marketing
You may be familiar with email marketing, as many of the platforms that you use on a daily basis (like Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail) offer the capability to send out email campaigns. However, not all email marketing is created equal, and creating an effective strategy that incorporates both content and marketing automation is crucial.
When sending out an email newsletter to your audience, make sure that the emails are both interesting and well-written. Additionally, make certain that each email is personalized, as people are more likely to click on a message that is addressed specifically to them. For this reason, creating a segmented email list is essential, as you will want to send out personalized emails to people who have expressed an interest in your product or service.
To grow an effective email list, you will want to consider using both organic and paid methods. The key is to develop a list of email subscribers who are both interested in your product or service and can be monetized. Using tools like Segment to build your audience and Mailchimp to build your list will help you get started.
Email Automation
Once you have a large enough audience on your email list, you can begin to integrate email automation into your marketing strategy. Creating an automated email sequence that starts with a welcome email and then progressively scales to larger and more frequent emails that contain content that is both relevant and valuable to your audience is a great way to engage with consumers and grow a loyal following.
Email marketing automation platforms like Mailchimp, HubSpot, and InfusionSoft make it easy to create an automated email campaign with dozens of pre-made templates that you can select from. Additionally, these platforms make it easy to set up automated email campaigns based on previous interactions with the user. For example, if a consumer has opted-in to receive emails from you in the past, they may be presented with an email sequence that is both relevant and valuable to them.
If you want to create an effective email marketing campaign, make sure to personalize each email and segment your list to only email those who are most likely to be interested in your product or service.
Content Creation
With so much information available online, creating content that is both informative and interesting to the user is a great way to drive traffic to your site. To create effective content, you will want to consider the various platforms and avenues available to you.
As a marketer, you will have access to a variety of content marketing tools, from editorial calendars to CMSs (content management systems) like WordPress and Joomla to PLAs (product list builders) like Shopify and BigCommerce to eCommerce systems like Shopify, Magento, and WooCommerce to name just a few.
For the best user experience and to drive the most revenue, you will want to create content that is valuable and unique to each platform.
Additionally, depending on your niche and industry, you may want to consider using various blogging platforms like WordPress, HubSpot’s blog platform, or Joomla to create content that is both informative and interesting.
Blogging
Blogs are a great place to build a brand and connect with consumers, as people are more apt to trust and believe in the opinions of those who write about a similar subject matter or industry. If you are looking to take your marketing efforts online, a blog is an excellent place to start, as you can then use various platforms like WordPress, Blogger, or Shopify to create and manage content that is both relevant and valuable to your targeted audience.